Page 11

Zoran spent his day sorting through and divvying up supplies for the humans with help from the unmated warriors who had accompanied him to Earth. Most of those supplies would be stored at the compound with the unmated females, where they could be easily accessed by any in need. Some would go with the females who had found mates, to keep in their homes. Others would be set aside as mating gifts.

Like the chocolate. Zoran was astounded by the quantity and variety of sweets included in the females’ necessary supplies. He discovered chocolate bars, chocolate truffles, chocolate coated candies, and chocolate morsels which, if his scans translated correctly, were used in the baking of special cookies.

Did human females truly consume this many sweet treats from day to day?

Other items baffled him completely. In addition to food, toiletries, and an overly large supply of chocolate, he found paper books, a wide range of technological devices and power cords, an entire crate of seed kernels whose purpose he could not fathom, and several boxes labeled DVDs .

He lifted a silent prayer to the Fates that little clothing had been included, undergarments only. More would have overflowed his ship to the point of rendering it incapable of flight. As it was, the supplies they’d gathered had nearly filled his holds, save the one in which the females had been held during their short journey here, where part of their food and water had been stored.

Zoran was unpacking the technological devices when Aklan of Clan Phyrz approached. The other warlord stood eye to eye with him, an imposing example of Xeruvian strength and cunning. He bore as well the contented air of a well-mated male, one reeking of the harmony that had thus far eluded Zoran in his own mating.

He greeted Aklan, one warrior to another. “I thought you had taken your mate to visit your jutji .”

Aklan’s expression melted into a rare smile. “Sonja wished to touch base with the other females before our departure.”

Zoran returned the smile. “Human females have a vivid way of expressing themselves.”

“Indeed. An entirely new way of viewing their environment. We have much to learn from them.”

“Let us hope we can give as much in return.”

“I believe we will. Already Sonja has pointed out several ways in which Xeruvian technology and knowledge could expand human capabilities. But first, we must find a way to treat with them, to parlay.”

Zoran grunted. None of the warlords had been satisfied with the human response to their trade requests. Perhaps Aklan and his mate could swing human sentiment to their favor, perhaps not. Either way, Xeruvians would find a way to fulfill their own needs.

But that was no longer his job, Zoran mused. He would remain here, with his mate, working to integrate her and her companions into Xeruvian society. Fighting to change the minds of those who had originally opposed interbreeding with another species.

His grimace must have registered in his expression, for Aklan’s own gaze grew shrewd.

“I heard of your encounter with Kaelen of Clan Drexus,” Aklan said.

“He was the staunchest opponent to contacting the humans and now wishes to have first choice of the females.”

“He has a point.” At Zoran’s growl, Aklan held up a placating hand. “We must all work together. Has this not been your rallying cry?”

“Using my own words against me?”

“Would you expect anything less from a diplomat?”

Zoran clicked his teeth together in raw humor. “I should expect exactly that.”

“Perhaps opening contact with the females to your opponents would mend the rift between them and you.”

“You speak of bribery and manipulation.”

“Are these not the tools of a warlord bent on peace?”

“I prefer the sword.”

“The sword is but one tool, my friend. The human females are another.”

Zoran’s expression snapped into a scowl. “They are not cattle, to be traded and sold. I will not whore them out.”

“I implied nothing of the sort,” Aklan replied calmly. “Had you not already planned on introducing them to other warriors?” At Zoran’s short nod, Aklan continued. “Then why not expand the selection to include all warlords? Lord Kaelen’s status merits his inclusion. If you allow too many lower-ranked males the privilege of contact with the humans, you risk insulting him. You and I both know how poorly he will react if he thinks he is being deliberately excluded.”

“He knows he is being deliberately excluded,” Zoran growled.

Aklan sighed heavily. “I cannot counsel you on the way you interact with your rivals.”

“Is that not exactly what you dare now?”

The other warlord’s mouth twitched with humor. “I merely illuminate the benefits of a powerful tool. Only you can decide how to use it.”

Zoran dropped his stare to the human technology he had unearthed among the supplies. Aklan’s words deserved due consideration, if not on their merit alone, then certainly because of the trust the other male had earned long ago. No matter what angle he considered, however, Zoran encountered a stubborn resistance within himself at the very thought of allowing a male such as Kaelen Drexus to treat with the females.

Yet must he find a way to mend the rift between Kerus and Drexus if he had any hope of saving his people.

Slowly, he said, “I shall consider your words.”

Aklan bowed his head once in formal acknowledgement of that small concession. “That is all I can expect.”

“Does your mate need any of these supplies?”

“We return to Earth on the morrow.”

“So soon? She does not wish to acquaint herself with your people?”

“We both feel a pressing need to mend the rift dividing Earth and Zephyria. And,” Aklan continued, amusement glinting from his eyes, “she has hand selected additional human females to approach. If all goes well, we hope to ferry a like number here in a few weeks, along with additional supplies.”

Zoran nodded decisively. “Until we can determine whether they can digest our food, our humans will need more of their own. Your mate has access to the manifest. Perhaps she can devise another list of needed goods based off that and her own experience.”

“I shall present her with that request on your behalf.” A pause. “And your own mate? Would she not wish to have a say?”

Zoran eyed the boxes scattered around him. “Indeed. Some of these items… What exactly is a DVD? I have yet to figure their value.”

Aklan shrugged. “Females.”

That one word summed up Zoran’s bafflement completely.

The afternoon passed quickly into evening. After Alara left, Mia spent her time studying Xeruvian culture, in between fielding questions from her fellow abductees. Somehow, she had fallen into the role of coordinator, a position to which she had never aspired.

“ Lady Kerus,” she grumped. “What will they do next, deify me?”

A polite cough interrupted her. Mia glanced up and saw Emma Mitchell standing in the open doorway. Emma was, like many of the abducted women, roughly Mia’s age. She stood slightly shorter than Mia with a willowy build, and while Emma wasn’t conventionally pretty, her features were arresting, especially when she smiled.

“Is this a bad time?” Emma said.

“No, of course not. Sorry. I was just wondering if you knew my mother. She used to be with the CDC before she and my father shifted into aid work.”

Emma had cut her teeth on fieldwork with the CDC before landing a research position with the CAH. She tilted her head now, her eyes narrowed. “I don’t recall meeting her. Does she still publish?”

“Not in a while.”

Mia rattled off the title of her mother’s last paper, published half a decade before, on the subject of post-epidemic immunity in a rural African village that had been savaged by viral hemorrhagic fever. Admittedly, not a recent publication. Mia had been working on her doctorate at the time and hadn’t had time to read the paper when it was published.

“I remember that one,” Emma said. “Quite interesting. It may be pertinent here.”

“I think any cross knowledge will be useful. That’s what I’m doing now, trying to figure out how to integrate human and Xeruvian research.”

“Could we somehow combine JSTOR with their database?”

“Excellent idea.” Mia automatically reached for a pen and notepad, then glared at her desk. “I really need to find some paper.”

“Ask Jyrak. She’s been an amazing resource. If her specialty was closer to mine, I’d totally steal her from you.”

Mia shook her finger in mock admonishment. “Get your own Xeruvian to pester.”

A shadow crossed Emma’s face.

“What?” Mia said.

Emma’s mouth worked for a brief moment, then she said, “You have to know we have questions.”

“About mating?”

“And other things.” Emma glanced away, her fingers pulling at the seam of her lab coat. “How did you know Zoran was the one?”

“I didn’t,” Mia admitted. “He chose me. Why? Has someone approached you?”

“Something like that.”

“One of the ones who took us?”

Emma shook her head.

Tentatively, Mia said, “Is he your mate?”

“I don’t—” Emma shook her head and overtly shifted her expression to one of polite professionalism. “That’s not why I dropped by. I’ve been thinking about our food supplies. The plants and pollen we’ve undoubtedly exposed ourselves to. The diseases.”

Alarm rippled through Mia as the implications sank in. “Oh, hell.”

“Precisely. No one’s shown an adverse reaction so far, but I’d like to do allergen tests as soon as possible, particularly for Xeruvian foodstuffs so we don’t have to rely on irregular shipments from home.”

“You are just chock full of ideas. And no,” she added fiercely, “you do not have to ask my permission to do that.”

Emma’s eyebrows rose. “I wasn’t asking permission. More like trying to coordinate efforts so there’s less overlap.”

“And I’m the de facto coordinator.” Suddenly, Mia understood why Zoran snarled all the time. “You know, I didn’t ask for this. I’m not even a particularly good leader.”

“I’m afraid we’re all wearing more than one hat at the moment. Speaking of, I’d love to have an actual course on Xeruvian history. In English with textbooks, if possible. And an English keyboard interface for my tablet.”

Mia reached for paper and pen again to make a note of those requests, and cursed under her breath at the lack of note keeping material. “Would you do me a huge favor? No, never mind. I’ll get her myself, just to keep you from getting any more ideas.”

Emma grinned. “Jyrak?”

“Mine,” Mia snarled in a creditable imitation of Zoran’s deeper growl.

Emma laughed, delighted. “Assimilating already.”

“If that’s what I have to do to keep Jyrak on my side, absolutely.”

When Emma left, Mia turned to her viewscreen wall to dedicate one to textbooks, became absorbed in the Xeruvian database, and forgot all about tracking down Jyrak. Another visitor interrupted her half an hour later, startling her out of a side quest on an extinct culture.

“Var’Kol?” someone said.

Mia whirled around, her eyes wide. A woman stood in the doorway holding a sheaf of paper. She was sharply put together in a way that screamed understated class. Even wearing Xeruvian clothing, it was clear this woman knew how to mingle. She was gorgeous, too, from the top of her auburn hair to the tips of her toes. Had the warlords deliberately selected for beauty, or was that a coincidence?

Mia shook off her thoughts and held out her hand, offering a welcoming smile. “Sorry. I was woolgathering. You must be Sonja Mathis.”

Sonja returned Mia’s smile with one of her own. “Guilty as charged. I’m sorry we didn’t run into each other on the ship.”

“Don’t worry about it. I had my hands full, too.”

“Literally?”

Mia blushed. “Oh, my God. No!”

Sonja laughed. “I’ve got my own warlord. I know how they are.”

Mia just bet she did. “Can I help you with something?”

“You say that like it’s rote. Fielding a lot of questions?”

“More than I’m comfortable handling. Of this kind anyway.” Mia pulled a rueful face. “Administrative things. I’m a lab rat, not a suit. And if you say we all have to wear a lot of hats right now, I may have to hit you. You won’t believe how many people have told me that today.”

Sonja held her hands up, amusement twinkling in her hazel eyes. “I come in peace bearing gifts.”

Mia finally got a good look at the paper Sonja was holding. “You brought me paper? Does it come with a pen?”

“Got those, too. Apparently they don’t bind blank paper into notebooks here or I would’ve brought you a few. Binding happens after the fact, during a compiling process.”

“Like bookbinding?”

“Yes and no. I got a lecture about it from Jyrak. You should get her to explain.”

“I will. She’s apparently become my assistant. It seems like a waste of talent.”

“Then you should see if you can find someone familiar with administrative tasks to free her up for lab work.”

Mia hesitated. “It’s not that I haven’t considered it. I just don’t know what the funding situation is.”

“Your mate will know,” Sonja said easily. She set the off-white paper on the corner of Mia’s desk and turned back to the viewscreens, studying each one in turn, then gestured toward the one displaying an encyclopedic entry for the Var’Kol. “What’s this?”

“An extinct civilization. They used to coexist with the Xeruvians on the fourth planet in this system.”

“Used to?”

“War.”

“Damn,” Sonja murmured. “Wiped them out completely?”

“As far as I can tell. Fairly recently, too, if I’m reading this correctly. Maybe within the past fifty to one hundred years?”

“I thought you were a botanist of some kind.”

“Crop scientist,” Mia corrected promptly. “This is background. The way people move and act and do affects their environment. And not to be rude, but you still haven’t told me why you stopped by. Unless you’re really just dying to know the tediously boring details of my day.”

Sonja laughed, unoffended. “Trust me, I understand. My days used to be filled with exactly that kind of tedium. That’s why I’m here, in a way. We’re going back to Earth.”

Mia’s heart jumped. Very carefully, she said, “We?”

“My mate and I. We’re the official liaisons between humans and Xeruvians.”

“Oh.”

“Is that disappointment I see?”

Mia shook her head. “No. I’m committed to my mate.”

Sonja’s eyes widened. “You’ve bonded with him?”

“Not yet, I don’t think. Well, sort of.” Mia pointed to the mating mark, which she’d finally gotten up the nerve to study the night before. It was a definite bite mark. She hadn’t had the courage to see if the mark she’d bitten into Zoran was still visible. “We made a good start.”

“But you haven’t followed through.”

“No.”

Sonja hesitated for a moment, her expression concerned. “Aklan, my mate, told me that warriors can be dangerous when the instinct rouses, until they’re fully mated. Yours is treating you ok, isn’t he?”

“He’s fine. A bit grumpy. We haven’t done the deed yet.”

“I see.”

“So,” Mia said brightly, ignoring her own blush. “You’re here about details?”

“Sorry. We do keep getting sidetracked.” Sonja waved a hand at the wall. “Do you have any specific requests for aid? Besides an administrative assistant. We’re going to try to recruit more women to join us here.”

“Oh. That sounds…awesome, actually. But I don’t have the foggiest clue what gaps we have here. I don’t even know what the Xeruvians’ specialties are.”

“When you figure it out, let me know. We’ll prioritize those fields. Whatever you need.”

“Well, just off the top of my head, I think we’re going to need a teacher. Someone who can write a textbook or pull together formal courses on Xeruvian history and their sciences at the very least.”

Sonja pulled a tablet out of her robe. “That would take an entire department.”

“Or more. Undoubtedly, we’ll do some of that work here. Some of it can probably be fielded directly from Earth, too. I imagine any number of people would jump at the opportunity to study another culture from the inside out, even if they can’t travel to Zephyria.”

“You’d imagine right. We have to jump the hurdle of letting the entire populace know first. When we left, Xeruvians were on a highly restricted need to know status.”

Mia acknowledged that with a thoughtful hum and finally decided she already had enough monkeys in her circus to worry about. “You should talk to the other women, see if they have any ideas.”

“I will.” Sonja slipped the tablet back into her robe, then tapped a fingertip to the paper. “Would you like to send a message home?”

Mia nearly flung her arms around the other woman’s neck. “Yes! Absolutely. I left a long-term research project hanging, and my parents are probably worried sick.”

“Don’t worry. Tracking down family is at the top of our list.”

“I think I love you.”

Sonja’s expression crinkled into a rueful smile. “Just remember that when you’re stuck coordinating all these projects with Earth.”

“Oh, my God,” Mia groaned. “You had to remind me.”

Jyrak came in a few minutes after Sonja left. “The evening meal hour approaches. Would you like for me to arrange a meal for you?”

Mia set aside the letter she’d been writing and stood. “No, I think I’m done for the day. Unless you’re hungry?”

“Normally, my daughter and I take the evening meal together, but I am at your service for as long as you need me.”

“Nonsense. You need to maintain a routine with her.” Goodness knew those routines had anchored Mia’s own family during her youth. “How old is she?”

“But a toddler.” Jyrak tapped the side of her hand against her thigh roughly halfway down. “This tall already. She will be like her father, a great warrior of immense height and strength.”

“I like the sound of that. Being short has definite drawbacks. Where’s your mate? Is he from this jutji ?”

Jyrak’s expression flickered. “My mate died in the earthquakes some years ago.”

“Oh, Jyrak,” Mia said, horrified at her lack of tact. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

“How could you in such a short time?” Jyrak rolled her shoulders in a not-quite-human shrug. “Rejala, my daughter, she escaped the burning fever. The one that claimed my fertility.”

Mia’s heart twisted at the sorrow underlying Jyrak’s words. “Is there any hope that the infertility can be reversed?”

“None that we have found. I pray to the Fates every morning and evening that my daughter was spared this curse.”

“I hope she was.” But now Mia understood some of the looks the humans had been getting. Zoran had told her what happened. It hadn’t seemed real until she met the people who’d been affected. No wonder Raelka and some of the other females had been so abrasive.

“Come,” Jyrak said. “The sun grows dim. I shall accompany you home.”

“I can walk myself. It’s not that far.”

“No, Mia. Your mate has tasked me with protecting you in his absence. I cannot allow you to skirt the jungle unaccompanied, not until you learn to defend yourself properly.”

“Not on Earth,” Mia murmured.

And even on Earth, it wasn’t always wise to run around alone in an unfamiliar locality, something she’d learned at a very young age. Living in California had made her soft. The worst things she had to deal with back home were traffic and office politics. Just because the road leading from Zoran’s apartment to the science center was lined with walking paths didn’t mean it was safe to walk alone.

“Precisely,” Jyrak said flatly. “I do not mean to frighten you, but even here predators occasionally wander into settlements.”

The memory of a starkly white creature slinking through the forest flashed into Mia’s mind and she shuddered. “Ok. No more arguments from me.”

Mia slipped her tablet into her robe’s pocket and closed up her office. Several people were still working, including a few humans. She waved to anyone who looked up as they left, then stepped into a clear, humid evening with Jyrak by her side.

As they walked, Mia prodded Jyrak into discussing her education and training. The more Jyrak talked, the more certain Mia became that she’d been right in her assessment: Jyrak’s talents were being wasted. Nothing for it, then. She’d have to find a proper assistant, preferably someone who wouldn’t mind helping her fellow humans, too.

She was searching for a way to approach Jyrak about hiring such a person when a flash of white caught her eye. Her skin broke out in goosebumps as a chill ran down her spine.

Jyrak turned toward the darkened jungle, her eyes intent on the shadowed foliage. “What is it?”

“I thought I saw—” Mia shook her head. Whatever she’d seen, if anything, it was gone now. “Nothing. Just an, I don’t know. On our way from the spaceport yesterday, I thought I saw an animal in the jungle.”

“There are many animals in the jungle, Mia.”

“I’m aware.” Mia shook her head again. “It’s probably nothing. I just thought it was odd that a pure white animal would—”

A dagger appeared in one of Jyrak’s hands, and she grabbed Mia’s elbow with the other. “You’re certain it was white?”

“Positive.”

“And you saw it here, now?”

“I saw a flash of white, yes.”

Jyrak shoved Mia to the other side and turned them both toward the science center. “Do not run,” she whispered. “Do not make any sudden movements.”

Mia struggled to match Jyrak’s longer steps, and finally settled on an irregular, rapid trot. “What is it?”

“In a moment.”

The science center loomed ahead of them against the day’s dying light. Laughter and singing drifted to them above the muted engines of conveyances rolling steadily along the causeways, not far from where they walked.

No sound came from the jungle.

Mia broke into a sweat that had nothing to do with their pace. The skin on her nape crawled, and she could nearly feel the gaze of a predator on her back. They weren’t going to make it, she thought, then Jyrak was plowing through a crowd of people walking away from town, muttering to them in Xeruvian.

The people all turned around and headed back toward town, brushing past Jyrak and Mia without another word.

Jyrak pulled Mia into the safety of the science center a few moments later. Mia put her back to a solid rock wall and dropped into a crouch against it, panting, her gaze locked on the view showing beyond the transparent doors. Jyrak had pulled out her tablet and now spoke into it in fluid Xeruvian, her dagger held in one hand.

When her conversation concluded, she tucked her tablet away and squatted in front of Mia, her gaze steady and stern. “Tell me about the animal.”

“I don’t know anything,” Mia said, her voice shaky. “It was just a flash of white in the corner of my eye.”

“And that is all? What about yesterday, on your way from the spaceport?”

“An animal slinking along the jungle floor.” Mia shook her head under a wave of fatigue. “It was just an impression. I didn’t see much. What was it? Do you know?”

“Something impossible.” Jyrak placed her free hand over Mia’s and squeezed gently. “What do you know of our history?”

“Not much,” Mia admitted. “I haven’t been studying it long. We’re thinking of creating a series of learning modules on Xeruvian history as background for our research.”

“This is wise. Our history is long and fraught.”

“Isn’t everyone’s?”

Jyrak nodded. “What do you know of the Var’Kol?”

Mia blinked at the other female. “The Var’Kol? Not much, really, just that they’re extinct and lived on another planet.”

“They were our enemies. It is—” Jyrak sighed. “There is no time for a complete lesson. Suffice it to say that we warred constantly. The reasons matter not, only that the Var’Kol had many weapons, including the vyirkolen .”

“The what?”

“A predator domesticated and bred for their viciousness.”

Mia swallowed a lump of fear and felt it settle uneasily in her stomach. “Let me guess. These predators were completely white.”

“Yes. They originally evolved in a land of ice and snow. During the last Var’Kolite war, they were set loose on Zephyria and given specific targets, sometimes a single individual, more often a family or village.”

“But they’re animals! How could they narrow down a target like that with any degree of accuracy?”

“They may have been animals, but they were also highly intelligent trackers. Once they caught the scent of their prey, they did not stop until they claimed it.”

Mia’s eyes widened. “You think one’s been sent after me?”

“I did not say that.”

“So what then?”

“We will know more once our warriors scour the jungle. Now we must get you safely home. I have sent for a conveyance.”

“And that’s it? We just…go home and wait?”

“That is it,” Jyrak agreed solemnly. “Your mate will ensure that if what you saw was a vyirkolen , it will not survive the night.”

Mia sat straight up. “Zoran! Oh, God.”

“He is a fierce warlord, Mia, one of the best fighters among us. Do not fear for your mate’s safety.”

“How can I not?” Mia forced herself upright, locking her knees until her legs steadied and held. “Maybe it was nothing.”

“Perhaps. But Mia, if you ever find yourself face to face with such a creature, remember: no sudden movements, no running. Climb, if you can, and be wary of their strength. Vyirkolen are good jumpers, their bite is fierce and deadly, but they cannot climb. Remember that.”

Mia nodded shakily. Sure, she’d remember that. Not that she intended to come face to face with a predator except the one who’d attached himself to her. She’d gladly sacrifice her highly anticipated daily walks between Zoran’s apartment and the science center if it meant keeping herself in one piece.